This was now the third time that Jesus told his disciples about his upcoming death in Jerusalem (see Mark 8:31; 9:31). And the grim details showed that this was going to be very hard.

How did the disciples respond? By way of distraction or denial, they changed the subject.

How often don’t we do the same thing? Many families, for example, will decline to talk about some uncomfortable reality—a financial problem, substance abuse, a health issue, a strained or broken relationship, maybe even the need to plan a funeral—the list could go on and on. Instead of acknowledging what will happen and putting it on the table, the family will only talk about what to put on the table for dinner.

It is easy, and it is human ­nature, to want to skip over the hard parts. And yet here we see Jesus, who courageously faced suffering and death so that we could be forgiven and have new life with God.

Jesus went to Jerusalem even though he knew how hard it would be.

Our Lord and Savior did this for you, for me, and for all who will believe in him—in order to make our salvation possible.